Taken Advantage
by AskShirley56
Summary: Dereka Hale is 15 when she first meets him, 16 when he asks her out. She is 16 years old when she realizes she's in love. She's sixteen when he breaks her heart and burns her house to the ground. If Dereka was asked to tell the truth, she couldn't tell you which came first. Genderbent!Teen Wolf. Derekate, Sterek, Scallison, Jydia


Dereka Hale is 15 when she first meets him, 16 when he asks her out. She is 16 years old when she realizes she's in love.

She's sixteen when he breaks her heart and burns her house to the ground.

If Dereka was asked to tell the truth, she couldn't tell you which came first.

* * *

Kyle Argent is a lifeguard at Beacon Hill's community center. He is taller than Dereka (which is very impressive), with a mop of brown hair and knowing green eyes and that half smile that makes all the girls melt. He's older, not by much, but it's enough to notice. Dereka's sense of smell isn't as strong as Laurence's (yet) but she can still distinctly tell his scent. He's not a boy; he's all man, all smoke and metal and leather. He's dangerous, Dereka thinks, but that doesn't stop her heart from racing when he looks at her and smiles.

"Kyle Argent," he says, before turning back to survey the perimeter again. There's no need, Dereka thinks. There aren't any children that need special attention; only a couple of teams are practicing today.

"Dereka Hale," she responds.

"I know," he nods, grinning. "I get off at 5. Do you want to catch a movie or something?"

Dereka swallows hard. "Sure," she answers, trying to sound unaffected but it's not working since her legs feel like they'll give out at any moment. She's thankful there aren't other werewolves on the team with her, but right now her heart's beating so fast the people working at the Tropical Smoothie across the street could probably hear her. Her coach calls her, tells her to get on the block. When she gets on, she can feel his eyes on her. She shivers, resettles, and dives.

She beats her personal record.

* * *

Dereka at 16 is very different from Dereka at 24. At 16, she's quiet, awkward. Too tall and too skinny, built like a boy. She has a prominent jaw and sharp cheekbones. Every morning she looks at herself in the mirror, inspects herself, hates herself. She isn't cute and petite like girls her age are supposed to be.

Mikayla Johnson is the school's dream girl. She's every high school stereotype come true. She's got a pixie nose that wrinkles when she laughs and bouncy brown curls. She's captain of the volleyball team and the swim team. She's top in all of her class and is dating the lacrosse team captain. She's engaging and confident, soft and feminine. She is everything Dereka Hale is not.

It wouldn't be so bad if Mikayla wasn't a bitch, but she is, so it is. Mikayla spends the free time she doesn't use shopping on pointing out Dereka's obvious flaws. As if she didn't know about them enough. She calls her a man She asks if Dereka cuts her hands on her cheekbones when she tries to pluck those caterpillars on her face. She tells her no guy would go for a girl that looks more like a Greek statue than he does. She tells her things Dereka already knows about herself.

So when Kyle Argent calls her Friday night saying he had a great time last week and can we do it again sometime, Dereka is too surprised to say no. They go out for ice cream this week, and the next they go to a fancy Italian place Dereka can't remember the name of. At night, Dereka sneaks out of her bedroom and they sit in the bed of Kyle's truck, drinking beer, looking at the stars, just talking. If Dereka's parents know, they don't ask. Dereka's glad for that, because at least now she doesn't have to try to lie when she knows they can hear her heart blip. There's no doubt Laurence knows, because Laurence knows everything. And if he looks at her suspiciously across the dinner table and eyes the hickey she couldn't hide, Dereka ignores him.

* * *

With Kyle, Dereka feels comfortable. With Kyle, Dereka doesn't feel like she wants to crawl out of her own skin. She doesn't feel like a freak, or an awkward, gangly teenager, or anything else Mikayla says to push her buttons. She feels like a woman, mature and confident and powerful, more in control of her life than she's ever been in her life.

Kyle makes her feel beautiful.

* * *

Dereka is turning 17 in two months and feels like she can conquer the world. She's got a sleek black Camaro (Laurence's), a solid GPA, and the 2nd fastest time for the 100 fly in the county. She's starting to fill in her gawky frame with lean, long muscle, and her super hot older boyfriend is taking her on a date tonight. Mikayla Johnson can kiss her ass, because nothing is going to ruin her day.

Until the police call her out of class and tell her there's been an accident.

* * *

Dereka at 24 is a lot different from Dereka at 16, but she is also exactly the same. She's still quiet, still sharp angles and lean lines. There's no softness in her face, and the creases have gotten deeper and so have the bags under her eyes. Dereka at 24 can recognize scent better than Laurence ever could, and she's also the Alpha now. She's grown into her frame, and every muscle in her body is poised for the kill, always on guard, always ready to strike.

Dereka has to, because she knows if she doesn't keep her mask up, she'll fall apart.

Dereka at 24 is still afraid, still lonely. She's the Alpha for a bunch of kids who don't respect her, don't acknowledge her as anything past the name "Alpha". Their wolves know the bond but the kids do not, and in the end Dereka doesn't know which side she wants to win.

Eric and Boyd ran off, and no amount of calling for them can tell Dereka where they are, can even tell her if they're alright. Scotty keeps her distance, as usual, and even Isabelle, who's always been Dereka's secret favorite, has started to stray. Dereka's back where she started 8 years ago, angry and scared and alone.

Except for Stiles.

Always except for Stiles.


End file.
